Recipe: Tangy Potato Salad with Dill

Ahhhh, Memorial Day is here- the unofficial start to summer! 

We are headed to our 2nd BBQ of the weekend, and I'm whipping up a yummy, lighter version of the traditional BBQ side dish staple.

I use fresh and dried dill, the dry dill has a bit more flavor, the fresh dill looks pretty while also adding flavor. 

Target carries strawberry red potatoes, tiny and easy to use, perfect for the lazy me that HATES peeling veggies.

Tangy Potato Salad with Dill

1 bag of steam-in-the-bag Strawberry Red potatoes (Or 6 small red potatoes)

1/2 a red onion thinly sliced

2 hard boiled eggs, cooled and sliced

Dressing:

1/3 cup Greek Yogurt (0%)

1/4 cup Olive Oil 

1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp dried Dill

1 Tbs fresh chopped Dill

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Cook you potatoes as the package directs, then cool. (or cube up your reds, boil until fork tender, cool)

Boil your eggs- place eggs in a small pot, fill with cold water, bring to a boil. Boil one minute, remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. Cool, peel, slice.

While potatoes and eggs are cooking, Whisk your dressing together in a large bowl, toss in your sliced onion. Refrigerate until ready to use.

When your potatoes are cool, cut them into quarters, (bigger reds can just be cubed). Toss in dressing, salt and pepper to taste, arrange sliced eggs on top, garnish with fresh dill. Serve immediately.

This is how I roll.....my grocery cart down the aisle.

I've been asked twice in the last week: "How do you plan your meals out for 2 weeks at a time?!?!" or "How do you get dinner ready while doing hair while taking care of the girls!?!".

Firstly, I LOVE to cook, so that really helps the situation. 

Secondly, I LOVE my crock pot, it cooks for you.

Thirdly, I LOVE my chest freezer! Stock pile that food girl!

Menu planning does take time, you may need to get a cup of coffee before you start, I usually do!

I sit down and map out my schedule, I write down the dates for the next 2 weeks, and make a notation of whats going on each day/night (busy nights are usually crockpot/easy meals.) 

Next, I'll browse pinterest for recipes, or my paprika app, or just write down some standbys. 

Here is the part where you have to really get into it!!

Try to get more than one meal out of each day!! Example: I bought 2 rotisserie chickens from Costco, and will use it in 4 meals. I have to put thought into it for sure!

Also, make double of a meal, one for dinner and one for the freezer. HUGE time saver! 

One of my favorite freezer-to-crockpot meals is this amazing bolognese sauce. It is sooooooo good! We put it on hoagies for meatball subs, its great for lasagna, I wanna lick my plate its so good. It's really big so I separate it into 4 portions. 

Okay, for real though, you really can't learn without doing. It took me a while to get a rhythm down, and sometimes (especially around the holidays) I just give up and we eat out 3 times in a week, I am human!

Here is my current menu, at the bottom there is notes on how to spread out your ingredients for multiple uses. I don't shop by coupons, rather, I plan the menu and then look for coupons. I saved $62 between the cartwheel app, target printed coupons, target online coupons, the coupons in the sunday paper, and my target red card. Two hours of work for 12 meals and a saved $62. Worth it? I'd say so.

1.Rotisserie Chicken, baked beans (big can), chips

2. Salad topped with cold rotisserie chicken, and veggies.

3. Hot Dogs, baked beans, store bought potato salad

4. Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad, veggies, chips 

5. Indian simmer sauce-Tikka Masala or Vindaloo (Costco/Target), naan, jasmine rice add half the 2nd rotisserie chicken.

6. Mac and Cheese with Hot dogs

7. Grilled Kielbasa and Pierogies -grill an extra kielbasa

8. Corn and kielbasa Chowder, and bread

9. Crockpot Bolognese Sauce (makes 3-4 batches), noodles, bread/salad-I use ground turkey

10. Sloppy Joes, tater tots, veggies/fruit (use extra ground turkey)

11. Order a pizza/Leftovers

12. "Meatball" Subs on hoagies with mozzarella, salad/chips/veggies+dip

I bought 2 rotisserie chicken at Costco, half of one for meal #1, the leftovers picked off and used for meal #2, 

baked beans from meal #1 are used in meal #3. 

The other chicken is used for meals #4 and #5. 

Leftover hot dogs from #3 are used in #6.

Grill 2 kielbasa on meal #7 and use it for meal #8

Cook an extra pound of turkey during #9 prep and save for meal #10

I bought a giant tub of mixed greens form Costco for all my salads, the chickens from there are huge too.

Baby Food: Quick "Rice Pudding"

Ivy needs lunch....I set aside some jasmine rice from our previous nights dinner.....sure lets use that.

I use the term rice pudding loosely, its just a quick cheater version for baby.

Baby Rice Pudding:

1 Tbs. Cooked Jasmine Rice (heaping)
1 Tbs. Vanilla Greek Yogurt
1 Tbs. Brown Rice Baby Cereal
A few Raisins or Craisins (I cut into smaller pieces)
1 Oz. Formula or Breast Milk (mix in gradually for desired thinness)
Sprinkle of Cinnamon

I mix it all up together, warm in microwave for 20 seconds. Watch baby devour!

Baby Food: Mac & Cheese

The other day, I made the big girls Mac and cheese. Good ol' Kraft-artificially flavored and colored; creamy and delicious!

I threw a couple noodles on Ivy's tray, she gobbled 'em up! I wasn't thrilled about giving her all that "crap" so young, (the big girls are at the point of no return, they want the stuff in the blue box)...so I decided to throw together a batch of homemade m & c for the little one!

It was sooo easy! I whipped it up while Ivy noshed on Cheerios, and the tv raised my bigs.

I had a handful of orzo left, but you could use any small pasta-acini de pepe, anellini, or stelline.

I decided to add some cauliflower, I had a ginormous bag from Costco that needed to be used. Sneaking veggies into dishes is always fun, it's a small victory watching my family devour chocolate muffins laced with zucchini. 

I threw my pasta in and cooked it past al denté (my toothless wonder needs it super soft). I added the cauliflower florets to the boiling water as well, it's okay to let them get mushy.

While that was going, I made my roux.

Melt the butter, add flour, stir til bubbly, slowly add milk-whisk! whisk! whisk!

Next, I added my shredded Colby Jack cheese-marble jack, cheddar, or white cheddar will work. I'd recommend staying mild, babies have sensitive pallets and tummies.

I Drained my pasta/florets, poured my sauce in the pot, stirred it all up. You can serve it fresh, or freeze it.

We use covered ice cube trays to freeze baby food. I spooned the cheesy goodness into the trays, this small batch filled one tray. 

Like most creamy pasta dishes, it gets a little thick when reheated. No biggie! I just added a splash of formula to "loosen" up the sauce. 

Here's the recipe, hope your little one enjoys it as much as Ivy did!

Baby Mac & Cheese

1/2 cup orzo or small pasta

4-5 cauliflower florets

1 Tbs unsalted butter

1 Tbs flour

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Boil water, add pasta and florets.

While that cooks, make your roux:

Melt butter (over medium heat) in a skillet, whisk in flour, cook until bubbly 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk, the sauce should thicken, add more milk if too thick. Stir in cheese, stir until melted and combined.

Drain pasta/florets. Put back in pot, pour sauce over pasta. Stir until combined. Serve or freeze!

The cook

I LOVE to cook!! Even with screaming kids at my ankles, I get satisfaction. Since my gall bladder drama we've really changed our diets. Fat-free dairy, all whole grains, unsalted/low sodium, way more produce, and the introduction of seafood. Fish was a big step for me, I used to gag at the smell! I've embraced salmon with two big hungry arms, shrimp is sooo good, tilapia is tasty.

Today, I made one of the simplest, most delicious seafood dinners EVER! Like, my 5 year old could do it! Italian lemon butter shrimp (and/or tilapia). So, it may not be the healthiest, but it's too yummy not to share!

Italian Lemon Butter Shrimp

1 pkg dry Italian dressing

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 lemons-sliced into circles

30 frozen shrimp-thawed

Set oven to 375.

Melt butter in a glass 9x13 baking dish (microwave worked fine).

Lay the sliced lemons ontop of melted butter, in a single layer.

Place the thawed shrimp ontop of the lemons, in a single layer.

Sprinkle the entire packet of Italian dressing over the shrimp.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until shrimp is pink and firm. 

Enjoy!!

(I didn't have enough shrimp, so I threw a tilapia filet in the dish, cooked it along with the shrimp. Super yum!)